Where can you purchase aquascaping materials?

I live around Mooresville, Charlotte, Statesville and Hickory and so far, it seems that my main stores to choose from are Petco or Petsmart. Petco has left a bad taste in my mouth concerning their fish care and customer service so I try to avoid shopping there when I can but honestly... Where can I buy driftwood, or baby tears or nice aquarium sculpting rocks? Do I have to order everything online?

I admit, I am very new to this. I've only done 2 freshwater tanks so far. A 2 1/2 gallon and a 10 gallon. Both were just to see if I could keep my plants alive. Now that I've proved to myself that i can, I've decided to upgrade to a 29 gallon dirted tank. The tank is now dirted, filled with water and cycling empty. I would like to have a rock ledge across the front of the tank but I don't know how to acquire those things to build it with. Can I pick rocks from my yard, boil them in saltwater, and super glue them together? Or do I need to buy special things for that?

Help please! Also, what other choices do I have as far as aquarium shopping goes that are close by?

Well I've got a place that is local and it is a great source for driftwood. I'm new to the area and have been diligently working towards finding which stores are best and where the quality keepers are in the area. So far I have found three fish keepers who are cool people and super willing to lend a helping hand.

Also when working with planted aquariums I've found one of the best things to have is a group of people that can share plants and advice.

I live around Mooresville, Charlotte, Statesville and Hickory and so far, it seems that my main stores to choose from are Petco or Petsmart. Petco has left a bad taste in my mouth concerning their fish care and customer service so I try to avoid shopping there when I can but honestly... Where can I buy driftwood, or baby tears or nice aquarium sculpting rocks? Do I have to order everything online?

I admit, I am very new to this. I've only done 2 freshwater tanks so far. A 2 1/2 gallon and a 10 gallon. Both were just to see if I could keep my plants alive. Now that I've proved to myself that i can, I've decided to upgrade to a 29 gallon dirted tank. The tank is now dirted, filled with water and cycling empty. I would like to have a rock ledge across the front of the tank but I don't know how to acquire those things to build it with. Can I pick rocks from my yard, boil them in saltwater, and super glue them together? Or do I need to buy special things for that?

Help please! Also, what other choices do I have as far as aquarium shopping goes that are close by?

I always use stuff I can find in the woods, as long as you boil it for 15-30 minutes and remove any obvious, unnatural growths then you should be fine! Regarding super glue, you can try that but I'm not sure how well it would work on larger rocks, plus it dries a very odd looking white color so make sure you hide it well.

NC isn't great when it comes to aquarium stores, I've heard mixed reviews about Fintastic in Charlotte but I've never been myself. Your best bet is to buy plants from people on this forum, they won't over charge you and the quality is worth the added shipping price

I understand your pain in trying to find a good local store. If you're willing to drive, which you'll have to be in NC to find a good shop, in Plymouth, NC there is a store called Fish Fish Fish. It's an awesome little shop that has been running since the 60's. Folks come from all around to visit.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Planted Tank Forum forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.